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The Tokyo metropolitan government is planning to offer shoreside electric power for vessels calling at the port of Tokyo, which will mean ships calling there will no longer have to depend on their own diesel engines for electricity.

Under the Ship-idling reduction project the metropolitan government plans to begin the construction of an electric power facility in 2009 to offer fee-based shoreside power for berthed ships as early as 2011, according to local media sources.

The project, which is scheduled to commence in April 2009, is said to be part of the city's plan to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants. The concentration of nitrus oxide and other pollutants in the Tokyo Bay area is reportedly 20-30 percent higher than in other parts of the city.

Plug-in shoreside power, also known as "cold-ironing," allows ships to shut down their auxiliary engines while the ship is docked, for a 100 percent reduction of air pollution at berth. Without shoreside electricity, vessels would use their own diesel-powered auxiliary engines to power refrigerated containers, pumps, lighting, air conditioning and computers while at dock.

Of the 31,500 vessels calling at the port of Tokyo each year, the project is planned to be initially limited to approximately 4,000 domestic ships, such as cruise ships, cargo ships and large ferries, which consume large quantities of electricity.

Last year, Japanese firm Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) successfully tested a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled shore power supply system on the containership MOL Enterprise. The electricity was supplied to the 4,500 TEU vessel at the port of Los Angeles.

In November 2008, the port of Long Beach saw K Line container vessel Long Beach Bridge become the port's first ship to use shoreside electric power following the completion of an $8 million project that installed electrical power outlets for ships docking at Pier G.

Other ports planning to introduce cold ironing are Vancouver and Rotterdam.

Port Metro Vancouver will be the first port in Canada to implement shore power for cruise ships, beginning with the 2009 cruise season.

The Port of Rotterdam and Stena Line plan to install shoreconnected power at the Hook of Holland terminal at a cost of around €5 million.